Life is a Highway
by cairo choco
Summary: a story about man and man's best friend - his car .axelcentric.


**t_itle_**; Life is a Highway

"I wanna ride it all night long…

if you're going my way,

I wanna drive it all night long..."

(.**a**_**xel**_.)

* * *

The little old Volkswagen convertible tugged on up the slope, struggling to reach the top. Dusk had bleached the normally faded blue metal into a deep purple. A pretty colour, but not exactly the rough n' tough black Axel had in mind when he'd bought the car. He learned the hard way- actually examine the car in person before you buy it. 

But no matter how old-fashioned and old-lady it looked, the car had truly grown on him. It wasn't very fast, and it wasn't too quiet either, but it was a hard worker. That car had the heart of a lion, (or so Axel liked to think). It got him where he needed to be, and that's all you could really ask for a car.

Said brave little car had finally reached the top of the hill. It paused and surveyed the land laid out before it. The view wasn't very scenic. Desert stretched for a _very_ long while and disappeared on the horizon. Hazy blurs could be seen dotting the edged of the highway, and Axel was guessing these hazy blurs were his pit stops. Pit stops that were much needed; another charming quality of the car was the gas mileage.

With a heavy sigh, little car began its decent down the hill. The dirt road had turned into paved black asphalt somewhere along the way. Heat rose in distorted waves and gave the highway a shimmering appearance. And though the landscape was bleak, it was only place Axel ever really felt he belonged to.

Not this particular desert or this particular highway; actually, it was highways in general. He liked the way they rode on forever, usually surrounded by open spaces and a lot of hot air. Maybe they weren't so good for sight seeing, but Axel was never one for gawking at mountains and gazing out at the ocean. He was never in one place long enough to appreciate what it looked like anyways.

And that's how he liked it.

He stopped when he needed a place for the night, and when he needed some food on the go. There wasn't much shopping going on; his clothes were just 'any old thing' and he never bothered much with them. He liked to look good, but (in his opinion) he didn't need to dress like the stud he was to sway a pretty girl.

He did like to buy music. Lots and lots of music. Though, if you practically lived on the road like he did, you'd want something to relieve the long days of boredom too.

Speaking of music, now was the perfect time for Axel to switch on the radio. The grating of wheels and stutter of engine was suddenly drowned out by some old time rock n' roll. The redhead leaned back in his seat and bobbed his head to the music. A cheery drum solo filled the car and leaked out the open windows, and onto the highway.

Several songs later, the first hazy blur revealed itself to be a little diner and connecting gas station. A few cars were parked out front, a few more than you would expect out in the middle of no where. Axel pulled in beside one of these, deciding to grab a bite to eat before filling up the Volkswagen and heading on his way.

A bell tinkled somewhere as he pushed open the door. Blessed air conditioner pulled him further into the diner and sat him down at a faded red booth. He pressed his face against the cool table and closed his eyes. For once it felt rather nice to be motionless.

Laughter tinkled just as melodiously as the bell. He sat up and searched for the person the giggles belonged to, delighted when he found a pretty redhead seated just a few tables away. She was surrounded by friends, of course. A brunet with gravity defying hair was slurping at a soda loudly, and a chick in a yellow sundress was chatting animatedly on her cell phone. The guy who was causing the tinkling laughter had blond hair swept to side and a checkered jacket. A good looking kid, talking to a good looking girl. They looked like they were having a blast.

For just a moment Axel's heart ached. The group was young, and probably just enjoying their first road trip. They seemed so happy to be out on the road. But the road could be lonely. They were lucky to be able to traverse it together, with friends.

The redhead and blond stopped laughing and turned to stare at him. The guy gave a friendly smile and the girl a cheery wave. It was almost as if they were inviting him to join in on their fun. But Axel hesitated. How long had he been traveling to no where? What was the last conversation he had with a human being? He was pretty sure it had been last night when he asked hotel how much they charged and where was his room. Not very eloquent.

He glanced back outside through the floor to ceiling windows. The little convertible waited humbly for his return. That car was more faithful to him than anyone else had ever been. It had been his companion for so many years. But now he realized that, no matter how much he loved it, his car wasn't really a friend. It wasn't someone he could confide in and share secrets with. You couldn't even have a conversation with it.

And conversation was something he really wanted.

So he ambled on over to the other table and joined the newcomers to the road. He laughed with them, flirted with the redhead, and talked about everything and anything.

All the while, the sun began its slow trip behind the earth. And his little faded blue Volkswagon convertible rested under the violet sky.

* * *

**a/_n_**; I notice how whenever I begin a stroy with one thing in mind, it always changes into something completely different. 

Um, I'm kinda half-awake right now, so I'm not sure if this flows the way I wanted it to. If not, then... oh well.

Feedback is nice and makes Cindri happy, so reveiw plz. :D


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